1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to automatically populating an application's directory with files having a specified type from other directory locations; and more specifically, to a system, method, and program for scanning selected directories, when a given application is launched, for desired types of files and placing the files in a specified location for use by the given application in response to a user's previously configured request for such types of files.
2. Description of the Related Art
Most applications have a working directory for only the files and resources that the application owns or that have been created by the application. However, these same applications also are capable of using files/resources created by other applications. These other files/resources can exist in the default working directories of other applications, or they can be downloaded from across a communication link and placed in a user's download directory. As such, these other files/resources can be located anywhere on a user's system, including on removable media. For example, a print shop application program may have clip art on a CD.
A problem arises when these files/resources get lost; or when considerable time is taken up trying to find all of the desired files from among a plurality of applications that may have such files in their own working directories.
Some applications, at start up, may ask the user the name of the directory the user wants as the application's working or base directory for putting the working tools, dictionaries, help, etc., into. However, these files are already known to the application. The application does not go out and search for other files that may be located in other directories of other applications. Other applications may ask the user for the path name of desired files, but the user must already know the location, i.e., path name, of the files.
Virtual file systems exist today which are an abstraction of a physical file system. A virtual file system provides a consistent interface to multiple file systems, including local and remote file systems. The interface allows a user to view the directory tree on the running system as a single entity even when the tree is made up of a number of diverse file system types. For example, an application named image_app may have a working directory as “image_app/” having other directories virtually mapped to it under a virtual file system implementation.
However, such a mapping is not flexible or changeable from application to application. That is, a user would still have to take the time to locate files within the virtual file system that may be desired by the user for a given application.
It would be desirable to be able to retrieve all of a user's desired files from one directory or location while executing a given application, even when some of the files reside outside of the one directory, without requiring the user to specify the path name of each file at the time the file is needed for the application.